Extension-ladder.



Patented Sept; l8, I900.

G. W. GARDNER.

EXTENSION LADDER.

{Application filed June 1', 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

THE "dams PETERS no. Puoruumo. wnsnmnfcn. 0.1:.

No. 657,932. Patented Sept. l8, I900. a. w. GARDNER.

EXTENSION LADDER. (Application filed June 1, 1900.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Igael ior 1 l I o m: Nonms PETERS co. PHOTOLIYHO. wasmum'am u. c.

UNITED STATE-S GEORGE WASHINGTON GARDNER,

P TENT OFFICE OF BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY.

EXTEN SlON-LADDER.

'sPiaoiFIcArIoN formingpart of LettersPatent 1%. 657,932, dated September 18, 1900.

Application filed June 1, 1900.

siding near Bowling Green, in the county of 1 Warren and State of Kentucky, have invent ed a new and useful Extension-Ladder, of which the following is a specification.

I This invention relates to ladders, and ha for one object to provide an improved extension-ladd'er-which is especially arranged to be mounted upon a fire-truck so that it may be turned in 'any direction and also folded flat upon the body of the truck when not in use. It is alsode'signed to provide an improved telescopic arrangement of'the laddersections, so that when folded the entire ladder may lie within the compass of a single section, so as to be conveniently accommodated upon the truck.

Another object resides in the provision of a single cable for extending the sections and for raising the ladder from its flat inoperative I position to its upright position, the several sections being connected, so that the movement of one section is imparted to the others, 1

whereby but a single cable is wound upon handling the ladder.

detail sectional view of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional perspective view illustrating the manner-of mounting one of the pulleys for the elevating-cable.- v

Corresponding parts are designated by like characters of reference in all of the figures of the drawings. g V

of fire-department services. With these and other objects in View the present invention consists in the combination Fig. 3 is an enlarged Serial No. 18, 773. (ND model.)

In'the accompanying drawings the present form of ladder has been illustrated as having three sections A, B, and 0, although a greater number of sections may be employed as desired.

The side beams of the respective laddersections are of substantially U shape in crosssection, as plainly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings, and the rounds l are secured to the inner sides of corresponding edges of the side beams, so that the outer sides of the ladder may be free from projections. It will of course be understood that the base-section A has transversely-larger side beams than the'other sections, vand the latterare proportioned so as to telescopically slide one within'the other, and thus all of the sections maybe collapsed within the compass of the single base-section.

In order that the ladder may be folded downwardly into a horizontal position, the lower end of the base-section is hingedly connected to a platform 2,-which is in the form of a turn table having a pivot bolt or pin 3, whereby the platform may be swiveled upon f the upper side of the body of a suitable truck, the operatingdrum which is employed for so as to accommodate the ladder for the uses To the upper side of the platform there is provided a pair of transversely-alined upstanding bearingears t,-betwe en which is received the lower end of the base-section A, and a pivot pin or rod 5 is passed transversely through the. ears and the opposite side beams of the ladder to hingedly connect the latter to the platform. Opposite upwardly arched or bowed guides and braces 6' are located at opposite sides of the ladder and have their opposite ends provided with feet 7, which are secured to the platform, and the ladder is designed to swing between said guides when being folded or raised into an upright position.

To extend the ladder-sections, there is provided a drum 8, which is journaled between the opposite braces 6 and is provided with an operating crank-handle 9, located upon the outer side of one of the braces. One end of a suitable cable 10 is wound upon the drum 8, and the opposite end of the cable is secured to the lower end of the second ladder-section as, for instance, by being tied to the lowertoo most round thereof or to a suitable transverse bar, as indicated at 11-thc intermediate portion passing over an idle pulley 12, mounted upon the upper end of the base-section. Thus as one end of the' cable is connected to the second ladder-section and also passes over a stationary pulley upon the base the second section may be raised by winding the cable upon the drum, as will be readily understood. The third ladder-section is elevated by means of a cable 13, which has its lower end connected, as at 14, to one of the lower rounds or a transverse bar provided at the lower end of the third section, and its opposite end is connected, as at 15, to one of the upper rounds or a cross-bar of the base-section, the intermediate portion of the cable passing over an idle pulley 15, carried by the upper portion of the second ladder-section, so that the upward movement of the latter section carries the third section upwardly. By this arrangement it will be seen that but one cable is wound upon the drum, and the movable ladder-sections are connected by means of cables and pulleys, so that the upward movement of each section imparts a corresponding motion to the next above section, there being as many sections as may be desired.

The pulleys are duplicates in construction and mounting, and, as best shown in Fig. 4, each pulley 16 has a block or housing formed by a substantially U-shaped metal strap 16, which is hooked over a transverse rod 17, carried by the side beams of the respective ladder-section and located opposite the rounds thereof, the lower opposite ends of the strap embracing another similar transverse rod 18, so as to prevent lateral swinging of the pulley, while it is free to be adjusted transversely upon the rods 17 and 18.

It is preferable to wind the cable 10 upon the inner side of the drum or between the latter and the ladder, so that the cable may draw directly downward from the pulley, and thereby prevent binding of the cable. Also the ladder is held out of contact with the drum by means of a re movable transverse rod 19, which is passed through corresponding perforations 20, formed in the arched braces 6, said rod being located between the ladder and the drum. This rod may be fixed and another movable rod 21 employed to hold the ladder at different inclinations, or both of the rods may be movable, so as to be located at opposite sides of the ladder to insure a proper holding of the same.

In order that the sections may be held at any adjusted extension, the crank-handle of the drum is provided with a hook 22, which is designed to be engaged with either the lower edge or the upper edge of the adjacent brace 6, according to which side of the ladder the crank may be, whereby the drum is held against being unwound by the weight of the sections, and the latter are fixed against downward movement.

For convenience in raising the ladder from its horizontal position, and vice versa, there is provided a cable 23, which has its upper end connected to the upper end of the basesection, preferably to the transverse rod 18, and its opposite lower end is provided with a hook 24 for detachable engagement with a knot or stop 25, formed in the main elevating-cable 10, so that the latter is then fixedly connected to the base-section, and by operation of the drum the entire ladder may be swung upon its hinged connection with the platform either to raise the ladder to an upright position or to lower it to a horizontal position without extending or otherwise longitudinally moving the other sections. After the ladder has been raised to its upright position the hook is detached from the cable 10,

and the drum may then be operated to ex-- tend the sections. Thus the main cable is employed both to raise and lower the ladder and also to extend the sections thereof.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the present invention provides an exceedingly-simple and easily-operated extension ladder, the sections of which are firmly connected, so as to readily slide upon each other, and the folding and extending of the ladder is accomplished by means of a single operating-drum, so that it does not require any great degree of skill to manipulate the ladder.

What is claimed is- 1. In a foldable and extensible ladder, a hingedly-mounted base-section, extensible sections carried thereby, a common operating device for folding and extending the ladder, extending means connecting the operating device with the extensible sections,and means for folding the ladder upon its hingedlymounted base-section, said means being carried by the base-section and also having a detachable connection with the extending means.

2. In a foldable and extensible ladder, a hingedly-mounted base-section, extensible sections carried thereby,a common operatingdrum for folding and extending the ladder, a main cable wound upon the drum and connected to the extensible sections for extending the latter, and a cable for folding the ladder carried by the base-section, and having a detachable connection with the main cable.

3. In a foldable and extensible ladder, a hingedlymounted base-section, extensible sections carried thereby,a common operatingdrum for folding and extending the ladder, a main cable for extending the sections, said cable being wound upon the drum and also connected to the sections, a'stop carried by the main cable, and a cable for folding the ladder, said cable being carried by the basesection, and also having a hook for detachable engagement with the stop carried by the main cable.

4. In an extensible ladder, the combination with a fixed base-section, and a plurality of telescopically-connected sections, of a single operating device, a main extending-cable connected to the operating device, and also connected to one of the movable sections, a pulley carried by the base-section and receiving the main cable, another cable having one end connected to the fixed base-section and its opposite end connected to another movable sec- IO tion, and a pulley carried by the first-mentionedmovable section and receiving the intermediate portion of the other cable.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WASHINGTON GARDNER.

Witnesses:

WM. D. MCELROY, R. W. MCSWINE. 

